New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday referred to the Preamble of Constitution and said though legislature, executive and judiciary were the three organs of modern state and yet people comprise the state on the ground and have the real power to decide the country’s collective future.
In his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day, Kovind said the Constitution came into effect on January 26 seven decades ago but the date had acquired special significance even before that.
Noting that the modern state comprises the three organs – legislature, executive and judiciary, he said they are necessarily interlinked and interdependent.
“Yet, on the ground, the people comprise the State. ‘We the People’ are the prime movers of the Republic. With us, the people of India rests the real power to decide our collective future,” Kovind said.
The President said the people had embarked on a journey as a Republic on January 26.
“Having resolved to attain ‘Purna Swaraj’, our people had been celebrating ‘Purna Swaraj Day’ every January 26 from 1930 to 1947. That is why, in 1950 we embarked our journey as a Republic on the 26th January, affirming to the principles laid down in our Constitution” he said.
Constitution gives rights but also places responsibility: President
President said that the Constitution gives rights but also places the responsibility to always adhere to tenets of justice and fraternity and suggested introspecting daily on Mahatma Gandhiji’s message of truth and nonviolence.
He said that the life and values of the Father of the Nation make it easier to follow these Constitutional ideals. “Our Constitution gave us rights as citizens of a free democratic nation, but also placed on us the responsibility to always adhere to the central tenets of our democracy – justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. It becomes easier for us to follow these constitutional ideals if we keep in mind the life and values of the Father of our Nation. By doing so, we will be adding a meaningful dimension to our celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji,” he said.
Youth should observe non-violence: Kovind
Kovind said that the people, particularly youth, should not forget the “gift of ahimsa (non-violence)” given by Mahatma Gandhi when fighting for a cause.
He said Gandhiji’s talisman for deciding whether an act is right or wrong also applies to the functioning of the country’s democracy.
Kovind also cited Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar to emphasise constitutional methods for achieving social and economic objectives.
He said that the government and opposition should move in tandem while giving expressions to their political ideas.